Page 39 of Sweatpants & Sweet Tea

The chest that I’d laid my head on mere hours before. I could feel my cheeks flaming at the memory. See, it was already happening. My face was giving me away.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

Nadia put her arm around me. “I convinced her to come out for a girls’ night!”

“No, I mean, in town? Why are you still in town?”

“Oh, um. So, change of plans. I’m actually going to be staying for a few weeks to shoot an episode of Dating in the Country.”

“Dating in the Country?” he repeated, his voice deeper and, from the sound if it, not happy.

“Yeah, I, um, I basically date five guys and then fans vote on who I go on a second date with,” I sheepishly explained.

When I did, Harlan’s nostrils flared, and his jaw ticked. He looked like a bull ready to charge.

“But it’s not real,” I rushed to amend. “The show isn’t real. I have done five segments for Pulse. Not ofDating in the Country. They wereDating in the Citybecause you know, I was in L.A. So, it’s the same format, but it’s here, so it’s not a city.” I could hear myself babbling and told myself to shut up.

I could feel Nadia and Zoe’s eyes bounce between Harlan and me, like they were watching a tennis match at Wimbledon.

“Okay, kids, this is fun, but we need to go see a man about a drink. You two be good!” Nadia exclaimed before she grabbed Zoe’s arm, and they headed inside.

“That was subtle,” Harlan said beneath his breath when the door closed.

“I didn’t tell them anything,” I quickly clarified.

Harlan just stared at me.

“They just…wait, did you tell them?” I asked, as a feeling I hadn’t experienced in fifteen years surfaced. It was like I was at a new school again. Every time I’d move to a new town, if any of the popular boys showed me interest, it would get around the school, and the popular girls typically didn’t take it well.

Harlan had said that Nadia was his first kiss. Maybe she was territorial. But she had left us alone. Maybe I was doing what I always did and was overthinking this.

“No.” He shook his head.

“Oh good. I mean, not good. Because it’s just, I don’t really, what we did…that’s not something I do. I know everyone says that, but it’s really true in my case. I just don’t want my aunt to be…or you know…I have my crew coming out, and I don’t want them to…”

“Don’t worry.” Harlan leaned down and whispered against my ear. “I don’t kiss and tell, andI certainly don’t fuck and tell.”

Hearing the word fuck in his raspy tone sent my hormones into overdrive. My arousal levels were shooting through the roof as I tried to swallow over the rushing rapids that were my watering mouth.

“Have a good night,” he gritted out and then started to walk away.

“You’re leaving?” I asked.

Part of me wanted him to stay. Just being in his presence again made me feel…safe. But also aroused and dangerous. Another part of me knew it was best if I kept my distance from him. Clearly, I couldn’t be trusted in his presence (see: me stripping my t-shirt off and asking him to fuck me).

He stilled and looked over his shoulder. “I have to get up early.”

As I watched him walk away, the part of me that wanted him to stay was screaming: Come back. I didn’t listen to that part. I turned and walked inside the bar. This was for the best. Distance from Harlan Mitchell was for the best.

18

HARLAN

My fingers grippedthe wheel tightly as I drove down the backroad that led home.

Dating in the Country.

Who watched reality dating shows? Someone must, because new ones kept popping up. Why would anyone want to sit there and watch someone on a date? Why wouldn’t they just want to go on a date themselves?

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